Colts 2024

[PHJIrish]

Throughout the years, the Colts have lost games against backup QB's.  This one today could be another one.  Miami is up 10-3, and the 3 came on the last play of the half.

[PHJIrish]

Well, the Dolphins had to depend on their 3rd string QB today, and the Colts found a way to get past them.  It was not a highlight game, but a much needed win.  It'll probably be that way the rest of the season, 'til Richardson gets some needed experience.

[temptation]

Is the goal to win games or develop a QB?  Good thing for the Colts that the Dolphins were just as incompetent as they were yesterday.  Kept expecting Flacco.

Yesterday's performance won't cut it against the upcoming schedule...

[Coach Nowlin]

They should trade Flacco for some draft pick....if you're not gonna play the best player to win games, might as well get something back for him 

 

[temptation]

40 minutes ago, Coach Nowlin said:

They should trade Flacco for some draft pick....if you're not gonna play the best player to win games, might as well get something back for him 

 

An ugly win is better than any loss, but with Flacco yesterday they win that game by three scores…

[PHJIrish]

With Richardson's short injury history, it's imperative to have a competent backup.  And Flacco sure is that.

BTW, does anyone here remember Peyton's first year at QB?  It took him some time to develop into a HOF QB.  I just hope Richardson becomes an adequate franchise QB in the near future.

[temptation]

21 minutes ago, PHJIrish said:

With Richardson's short injury history, it's imperative to have a competent backup.  And Flacco sure is that.

BTW, does anyone here remember Peyton's first year at QB?  It took him some time to develop into a HOF QB.  I just hope Richardson becomes an adequate franchise QB in the near future.

Peyton was an ELITE college QB though…Richardson…not so much.

Edited October 22, 2024 by temptation

[PHJIrish]

10 hours ago, temptation said:

Peyton was an ELITE college QB though…Richardson…not so much.

That's quite true, and Peyton struggled to get going during his rookie season.  So, in some ways they're the same, although Richardson had some game experience last season.  It's rare for a rookie to make a genuine impact, but it has happened.

[temptation]

46 minutes ago, PHJIrish said:

That's quite true, and Peyton struggled to get going during his rookie season.  So, in some ways they're the same, although Richardson had some game experience last season.  It's rare for a rookie to make a genuine impact, but it has happened.

But what I’m saying mote specifically is that it was widely believed that with time, Peyton was a can’t miss prospect.  
 

You can’t come anywhere close to that assertion with Richardson.  The NFL is not an “ on the job training” kind of league.  Coaches are getting less time than ever before.  Gotta win now.

[Bash Riprock]

14 hours ago, temptation said:

But what I’m saying mote specifically is that it was widely believed that with time, Peyton was a can’t miss prospect.  
 

You can’t come anywhere close to that assertion with Richardson.  The NFL is not an “ on the job training” kind of league.  Coaches are getting less time than ever before.  Gotta win now.

Didn’t verify the accuracy, but is certainly eye opening….

[PHJIrish]

The NFL has had a bevy of OJT QB's.  I could provide a list but we all know who they are/were.  Some of them were "can't miss" coming out of college, but did miss too.

[Irishman]

Well this is a bad look. 

https://www.espn.com/video/clip?id=42038784 

[Bash Riprock]

2 minutes ago, Irishman said:

Well this is a bad look. 

https://www.espn.com/video/clip?id=42038784 

Cmon Irish...you need to be more understanding...more loving.  One gets really tired going 10 for 32 passing the football in a game....2 for 15 in the first half.  

SMH....

[Muda69]

Mr. Doyel at the Indianapolis Star lambasts  Mr. Richardson: https://www.indystar.com/story/sports/columnists/gregg-doyel/2024/10/27/colts-qb-anthony-richardson-needed-a-breather-that-cant-happen/75753442007/

Quote

Had enough fun yet? Same here. The Anthony Richardson roller coaster has finally, officially, irrevocably worn me out.

Well, allow me to hedge just a bit and say irrevocably right now, today, after watching his throwback performance – his final stat line, 10-for-32 for 175 yards, time-traveled here from the 1950s – in the Colts’ 23-20 loss Sunday at Houston. Richardson, the Colts quarterback, still has all the talent in the world. He’s big and strong and, yeah, I’m kind of like you at this point:

Tired of writing about his talent, his size, his speed, even his kindness. And he has all of those at Hall of Fame levels. The guy’s a 6-4, 260-pound, sprinter-speed teddy bear of an NFL quarterback. What’s not to love?

His statistics, for one.

What happened late in the third quarter, for another.

At one point Sunday he was 2-for-15, and lest you think this was a fluke, understand: Richardson entered the game last in the NFL in completion percentage at .485. He completed 59.5% of his passes last season for the Colts, and completed 54.7% of his passes at the University of Florida. Maybe this isn’t who he always will be, but the sample size continues to grow, and right now this is who he is:

Inaccurate.

Also: Not good enough.

But what else is he? Seemed like we learned something new about Richardson on Sunday, when he kind of, sort of – didn’t he? – quit on a possession. Or quit on himself. Maybe quit on his team. That’s a loaded word, quit, and afterward Colts coach Shane Steichen and Richardson were avoiding that concept like the rattlesnake it is.

But we have a duty here – me writing this, you reading it, all of us who are aware of the facts as they unfolded Sunday – to take into account what we saw and heard during the game.

And this is what we saw, after Richardson scrambled for his life on second-and-goal from the Houston 23, avoiding a sack at the 40 before being taken down at the line of scrimmage. Richardson rose, looked to the sideline and tapped his helmet – the sign that he needed to come out of the game. We’ve seen this before, of course. This was Richardson’s 10^th career NFL start, and the fifth time he was unable to play a complete game.

So what was the injury this time?

There was no injury.

Let’s pause, to give you time to digest that.

Shane Steichen says Anthony Richardson “needed a breather.”

That’s why Richardson, with first place in the AFC South on the line, late in the third quarter at AFC South rival Houston (6-2), facing third-and-goal, took himself out of the game.

“He needed a breather,” Steichen said. “He had run three times in a row, and we were going to hand the ball off.”

Two things:

One, Richardson didn’t know the Colts (4-4) were going to hand the ball off. Not in the instant he rose from a tackle and asked out of the game.

Two, he needed a breather?

That can’t happen. It just can’t happen. In your life, can you think of a single time when an NFL quarterback – sorry, a franchise NFL quarterback who happens to be the best athlete on the field – removed himself from a drive, on third-and-goal, because he was tired?

Now you can.

“Tired,” Richardson told reporters in Houston when asked why he removed himself from the game. “I ain't gonna lie.”

Can’t happen. Cannot happen. You can slice that any way you want, and you can read into it any way you want, and if you were the sports columnist at the local newspaper and knew you’d need access to this particular franchise quarterback for the next 10 years – or however long he’s here – you maybe shouldn’t write what I’m about to write:

But that’s pathetic.

Anthony Richardson, age 22, needed a breather?

Hey, Joe Flacco, can you come over and finish this section for me? Not the entire column. I can come back in later. Might even look great, later. But right now I need a breather.

Because I just can’t.

The thing is, Richardson looks brilliant at times. This is not me apologizing for anything I’ve written, or trying to soften the blow. Not sure you can soften the blow from the word pathetic, anyway. But this is me doing what I’ve already done in this story, and writing the truth:

Richardson looks brilliant at times. He looked brilliant at times Sunday – after he took that breather, frankly – when he drove the Colts for a touchdown on their next possession. On that drive Richardson completed four of seven passes for 64 yards. Of the three incompletions, one of them was a beautifully thrown 25-yard lob to Michael Pittman Jr. that was broken up by a great defensive play, and the next was a 25-yarder that Tyler Goodson dropped in the end zone.

Take away that possession, though, and Richardson was 6-for-25 for 111 yards with one TD and one interception, a terrible interception, a terrible throw on a terrible call by Steichen that, frankly, lost this game. To recap that doozy:

Final seconds of the first half, game somehow tied at 10 despite Richardson having gone 2-for-14 to that point. Colts have the ball at their 12, and Richardson has just thrown a near pick-six. Only one player had a shot at Richardson’s short pass to Pittman, and it wasn’t Pittman. It was Houston’s Kamari Lassiter, who can’t make the one-handed catch. Now there are 34 seconds left and it’s third-and-3 from their own 12 and Richardson is – I repeat – 2-for-14 on the day, so surely the Colts are going to call—

WHAT.

WHY IS RICHARDSON THROWING ANOTHER SHORT PASS?!

Best of all, there are three Colts in the vicinity: Pittman and Colts receiver Josh Downs are practically side by side, and tight end Will Mallory is headed that way. This means there are three Houston defenders converging on the spot where Richardson, having a wildly inaccurate day, is about to throw the ball.

What could possibly go wrong?

Richardson finally throws one at his receiver, at Downs, which means he didn’t see Houston safety Jalen Pitre standing in the way. Pitre picked it, and the Texans scored on the next play for a 17-10 lead at halftime, and what was the final score? Just a three-point loss?

The Colts could’ve beaten Houston if it weren’t for that decision by Steichen. As bad as Richardson was – and he also fumbled twice – the Colts could’ve won this game without that indefensible play call by Steichen to end the first half. Anthony Richardson could’ve been the winning quarterback. Maybe even should’ve been the winning quarterback.

Doesn’t change anything you’ve read. Let me off the AR-5 roller coaster. He’s not accurate enough, and late in a winnable game he lacked either the physical or mental strength – those are the only two choices – to finish a drive inside the Houston 25.

Seen enough. Where’s the plug? Time to pull it.

Agreed.  Mr. Steichen needs to stop coddling and protecting this guy.  He is not the future savior of the Indianapolis Colts.

 

[PHJIrish]

26 minutes ago, Muda69 said:

Mr. Doyel at the Indianapolis Star lambasts  Mr. Richardson: https://www.indystar.com/story/sports/columnists/gregg-doyel/2024/10/27/colts-qb-anthony-richardson-needed-a-breather-that-cant-happen/75753442007/

Agreed.  Mr. Steichen needs to stop coddling and protecting this guy.  He is not the future savior of the Indianapolis Colts.

 

Yeah, I'm not sure he's seeing the game back there.  He just doesn't seem the least bit comfortable, and I guess he's going to carry on as long as he's healthy.  Not much to look forward too, although others played well, and a 3 point loss to the division leader on the road isn't that bad.  If there had just been a bit of better QB play the Colts could have won.

[swordfish]

How much is A.R. getting paid to be on the field?  ON THE FIELD OF PLAY?  You don't get to "Tap Out" without a good reason.  "Winded" or "needed a breather" is not acceptable.

Admittedly, the entire team lost that game, not just A.R.  There were so many catchable passes dropped that all the blame should not be on A.R. but the second he "tapped out" he should have been benched immediately and let Flacco finish the game. 

[Yuccaguy]

Colts WIN if Flacco is QB1.  

Time to just tell the darn truth.  Flash is fine, but I prefer cool/calm/professional leadership at that position!  

[PHJIrish]

The interception at the end of the half was the deciding points, imo.  A poor decision on Richardson's part.  He needs to be aware of the circumstances and not make that kind of throw at that juncture of the game.  Just let the clock run out!  And for those who think Richardson didn't have a large part in losing this game, should ask his teammates, in private, about their thoughts on the matter.

Edited October 28, 2024 by PHJIrish

[Boilernation]

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/colts-benching-anthony-richardson-for-joe-flacco-for-sunday-nights-game-vs-the-vikings-per-report/

[Muda69]

7 minutes ago, Boilernation said:

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/colts-benching-anthony-richardson-for-joe-flacco-for-sunday-nights-game-vs-the-vikings-per-report/

Not surprised.  Maybe Mr. Steichen has grown a spine when it comes to young Mr. Richardson.  

[PHJIrish]

Another Colt loss, this time without an offensive TD.

[Muda69]

And yet another flip-flop from Mr. Doyel:

https://www.indystar.com/story/sports/columnists/gregg-doyel/2024/11/04/colts-collapse-with-joe-flacco-vs-vikings-need-qb-anthony-richardson/75880106007/

 

[Boilernation]

1 hour ago, Muda69 said:

And yet another flip-flop from Mr. Doyel:

https://www.indystar.com/story/sports/columnists/gregg-doyel/2024/11/04/colts-collapse-with-joe-flacco-vs-vikings-need-qb-anthony-richardson/75880106007/

 

Oh, for F's sake. Does he have any idea what Brian Flores would have done to Richardson? Doyel should stick to writing heartworming fluff pieces about people he encounters across the state. Those are about all he is good for as a journalist.

 

[PHJIrish]

Not surprising, the Colts lose to the Bills, 30-20.  The Bills are good.  The Colts not so good.

[Irishman]